


Adoption

by TheMatraPseudoBiblica



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Abuse, Child Abuse, Darth Scintillations, Sweet, i don't care what you think, implied - Freeform, mentions of abuse, palpatine as a... good guy?, shut up, sith thrawn, thrawn as a kid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-21
Updated: 2015-04-21
Packaged: 2018-03-25 03:02:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3794239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMatraPseudoBiblica/pseuds/TheMatraPseudoBiblica
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a fic based on “Unwanted” at link and tying into the Darth Scintillation series if you squint. It’s also part of the “Strangers” Saga, an upcoming fic.</p>
<p>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aO_8FVK5Pp0</p>
            </blockquote>





	Adoption

Palpatine was wandering, invisible through a crowd of Chiss in the market. There were a few other species among the general throng, but the blue-skinned, red-eyed Chiss were definitely the dominant species.  
Of course, none of them could see him. Chiss were so blind when it came to the Force.  
But, someone could see him. A schoolchild was following him and that was setting his teeth on edge. Hoping that he would look just like an ordinary customer, he bent over a display of stuffed animals and selected one that reminded him of a cat. With it in hand, he dropped a coin on the counter and continued on his way, his hanger-on still in tow. It was time to do something about him.  
Palpatine darted into an alley and waited until the child followed him. “Hello.”  
The little Chiss stared at him without fear. “Hello.”  
Palpatine went down on one knee in his leathers and cape to be closer to the little Chiss’s size. “You can see me, can’t you?”  
The child nodded.  
“No one else can. You must be very special.” That was an understatement. The little Chiss was a veritable maelstrom in the force.  
The young one shook his head. “I’m not special at all.”  
“All children are special.” Palpatine assured it. “What’s your name?”   
“I’m Thrawn. Who are you?”  
“I’m Palpatine. A visitor for a few days.” Palpatine held out the cat-thing. “I have a present for you.”  
Thrawn’s eyes fixed on the cuddly toy. “I never get presents.”  
Palpatine laughed uneasily. Something about this child reminded himself of his own upbringing. “Well, I’m giving you one.” As he was talking, he put a sliver of Force power into the toy. It would monitor Thrawn and tell him everything that happened to him as well as return to the child whenever he was separated from it. “Go on, take it. It’s yours.”  
Thrawn reached out hesitantly and then snatched the toy. Hugging it to his chest, he stared at Palpatine. “What are you?”  
Palpatine sat down against a wall and pulled a package of cookies out of his pocket. “I’m a friend. A traveler from a far-off place. Are you hungry?”  
Thrawn stared at the package of cookies. “Yes.” He sat beside Palpatine with his back to the wall exactly like him. Palpatine popped open the package and handed it to Thrawn.  
Palpatine told Thrawn about his home and his travels while the child devoured an entire package of Chocolate Chip Molasses Cookies. “…So here I am. And in just a little while, I’ll be gone.”  
Thrawn’s eyes were wide as he finished the last cookie. “That’s amazing! Someday, I want to see all those places!”  
Palpatine patted his head. “I’m sure you will. Come on, I’ll make sure you get home safely.”  
Thrawn fidgeted. “I don’t want to go home yet. Mom’s mad.”  
Palpatine frowned. “Oh. Well, then. What do you want to do?”  
“I want to sit here and listen to more stories.” Thrawn turned a pleading look on Palpatine. “Please?”  
Palpatine sighed. “All right.” He launched into every child’s story he knew and kept the child entertained until Thrawn finally stood up.  
“I need to go home now. If I’m late to dinner, mom will be even madder.” Thrawn clutched the toy.  
It occurred to Palpatine too late that the toy itself might inspire anger in the child’s mother. “Thrawn. You might want to put your toy in your room before your mother sees it. She might not like that you have it.”  
Thrawn’s face crumpled. “Mom doesn’t like anything about me.”  
Palpatine reached out to the child and stroked its cheek. “Well, maybe I can carry it home and put it in your room for you. You’ll have to show me the way.”  
Thrawn was hesitant to part with the toy. “But…” At last, he held it out. “All right. Follow me.”  
Thrawn took him to a magnificent house. Based on the child’s behavior and how he was allowed to roam, Palpatine had assumed him to be a servant’s son, but to his shock, Thrawn walked right up to the front door and went in. The mistress of the house was waiting for him and went on to scold him for staying out so late. Thrawn was handed off to a servant to be scrubbed for dinner and Palpatine followed the servant to the living quarters. On their way, they passed an eight-year-old who looked down his nose at Thrawn.  
Palpatine felt a sense of déjà vu coming over himself and he shook it off.  
Thrawn pointed to his bedroom and whispered. “In there.”  
The servant looked at his charge oddly. “Did you say something, young master?”  
“No.” Thrawn lied glibly as he continued to follow the servant. Palpatine diverged and entered the Spartan bedroom. With the cuddly toy in hand, he looked for a place to hide it where Thrawn would find it easily. The chest of drawers offered several ideas and he placed the toy in the corner of a nearly empty one containing a few other toys.  
Leaving the child with a final gesture of farewell, Palpatine determined to keep an eye on him.

Thrawn managed to keep his new toy secret for several months. He was very careful whenever “Palpatine” was out. Not even Thrass knew about the addition.  
But when his mother found out…  
“What is this?” She dangled Palpatine by one of its ears.   
Thrawn stuttered. “A-a-a-a toy someone at school gave me.”  
“Someone at school?” Her lip curled. “Who would give you something?”  
Thrawn stuttered again. “I d-d-d-don’t remember. P-p-p-p-please…”  
“P-p-p-p-please, what?” Her hand twitched and the toy fell into the incinerator. “You know what I say about lying.”  
Thrawn sadly turned away and trailed to his room. Sitting up on the bed, he hugged his pillow and let his eyes water freely.  
Palpatine felt the toy’s destruction, of course, and worried for Thrawn’s safety. It took him a week to get back to the hellhole that he had left the child in and no time at all to figure out that his little friend was alive, if worse for the wear. Thrawn had been condemned to go without dinner until he told his mother who had given him the toy. Of course, the truth was too ludicrous to be believed and so she hadn’t let up even when Thrawn had confessed.  
“It’s not fair.” Thrawn said quietly. “I can’t do anything right.”  
Palpatine handed the child a fluffernutter sandwich. After witnessing Thrawn’s voracious appetite in their first encounter, he had come prepared for a similar display that day. “Here. Eat.” After making sure that Thrawn was well-fed, he held the child on his lap. “Thrawn, would you like to leave and come and live with me?”  
Thrawn sniffled. “May I?”  
“Of course. I would love to have a little child like you to be my son.” Palpatine thought vaguely of Thrawn’s power. No, Darth Plagueais would not object to his adoption of this child.  
“Yes, please!” Thrawn cried.  
“Then quietly gather some things to take with you and I’ll be right back.”  
Palpatine’s eyes were glowing yellow as he approached the mother’s door. Invading her mind, he showed her Thrawn being dragged off by monsters or torn apart. When he felt a mild wave of satisfaction and relief, he changed Thrawn abruptly to the second child that lived in the house and received a much worse effect. With his opinion of her solidly in place, he allowed her to wake. Silent and soft, he returned to Thrawn’s room while the mother ran to check on her favored son. Thrawn had put together a small backpack of his belongings and easily leapt into Palpatine’s arms. Palpatine crouched in the open window and waited until he knew the mother was nearing the door. Then, he unsealed it and allowed it to slide open.  
The Chiss woman turned and saw her second son in the arms of a stranger. Palpatine fixed her with his glowing yellow eyes and fell backward into the garden. In moments, he had re-summoned the illusion that made him invisible and vanished as she leaned out the window to see where they had gone.  
Thrawn grew up to be subtle, deadly, and beautiful. His genius brought him success as a general and admiral and in policing the Empire he and his father built. And when Palpatine’s life ended, he became the next Emperor as did his daughter and her descendants.


End file.
